The ongoing California fires devastating Los Angeles county and surrounding areas highlight the growing risks posed by climate change, droughts, and expanding residential developments in fire-prone regions. As these natural disasters grow in frequency and intensity, protecting your property and financial stability is more critical than ever. This article discusses the types of insurance that may protect against wildfire damage, some common policy exclusions and gaps, and tips to ensure you’re adequately covered. Types Of Insurance That May Cover Wildfire Damage Homeowners Insurance Homeowners insurance typically covers the cost to repair or rebuild a home if it is damaged or…

Ohio’s population has declined over the last couple of decades, but the state was one of the original homes of the wealthy. In the Gilded Age of the late-1800s, captains of industry like John D. Rockefeller, Sylvester T. Everett, Mark Hanna — the businessman who ran William McKinley’s successful campaign in 1896 — and many more, had homes on Euclid Avenue’s Millionaire’s Row in Cleveland. As part of an ongoing series, we’ve been analyzing ever state in the country in terms of what the most expensive ZIP codes are. Here, we’re determining the most expensive ones in Ohio. The most…

The SBA is authorized to provide up to $2 million in low-interest-rate, long-term disaster loans per business to cover physical or economic damage. But the agency depends on Congress to replenish its funds. By Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes Staff The first of the wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles last Tuesday morning, tearing through dry brush in the Santa Monica Mountains. As of Sunday, the Palisades fire was still spreading and four major blazes had burned nearly 40,000 acres in the L.A. area, taking at least 24 lives, destroying or damaging more than 12,000 structures and…

Is 10 million enough to retire? The crux of retirement planning is figuring out what level of income your assets can safely support over your retirement lifetime and how that compares to your current living expenses. In another words, your ability to retire on mostly depends on how much income you need from your investments and how long you need it to last for. There are, of course, many other variables as well, which is why it’s important to speak with a financial advisor about your individual circumstances. Retirement Lifestyle At Different Asset Levels Americans often have a number in…

As I perused the ubiquitous “Best Books of the Year” lists from thought leaders whose reading prowess I respect, one book I hadn’t read kept popping up, so I decided to explore it over the holiday stretch. Aided by its curious title, The Courage To Be Disliked is a parabolic conversation between a youth and a philosopher designed to explicate the intersection of Greek philosophy and Adlerian psychology. Wait—I realize that might not be the most tempting of descriptions, so let me share three specific concepts from the book and how they can help you live a richer life. First,…

For years at this point, it’s been clear that the ABC test, promoted heavily by the left as a way to end miscategorization of employees as independent contractors (ICs), has been a foray into faith. Backers have presumed that a radical and arbitrary shift in long-established systems will deliver the desired results. A new multi-state economic analysis shows something far different. The U.S. Department of Labor and state labor agencies, for decades, have regularly announced enforcement of existing laws that prohibit the practice. Courts have long applied existing standards. While there have been legitimate complaints, there have been ways to…

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, prisons across the country faced severe staffing shortages. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), operating on an $8.3 billion annual budget, has attempted to address these gaps by hosting job fairs, offering retention bonuses, and increasing pay to attract and retain workers. Despite these efforts, federal prison facilities continue to grapple with significant staffing shortfalls. In December 2024, the BOP announced the closure of seven prisons—including six male prison camps—as a cost-saving measure to consolidate operations. Unfortunately, this challenge is not unique to federal institutions. Georgia governor Brian Kemp announced last week that the state…

Eight years after issuing the ill-fated Notice 2016-66, the U.S. Treasury has released its final regulations relating to so-called “microcaptive transactions”. These regulations designate certain transactions as listed transactions (read: presumed tax shelters) and others as “transactions of interest”(read: might be a tax shelter). These regulations also require certain enhanced reporting requirements for the taxpayers and related parties that are involved in these microcaptive transactions, including specifically their material advisors. In other words, all these folks now must file a tax shelter disclosure form. As mentioned, Treasury’s road to these regulations have been long and troubled ― primarily due to…

I have long been captivated by the meteoric rise of MrBeast. Who wouldn’t? At just 26 years old, Jimmy Donaldson, better known by his moniker MrBeast, has built a billion-dollar empire. And that demands the attention of corporate America. Unlike traditional businesses, MrBeast thrives under a different set of rules and a distinct philosophy. To gain deeper insights into these unique philosophies, I interviewed Marc Hustvedt, the president behind the scenes at MrBeast. Hustvedt, an instrumental figure in operational strategy, shared pivotal insights that help us understand the divergent thinking at MrBeast. This conversation reinforced my belief that the traditional…

Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and the ongoing wildfires in California have become common occurrences. The California Wildfires which began on January 7th have displaced close to 200,000 people and already caused damage of as much as 135 billion dollars. These natural disasters bring out the best in people who want to donate to charities to help the victims. However, unfortunately they also bring out the worst in scammers who are quick to take advantage of the generosity of people by contacting them posing as charities, but instead of collecting funds to help the victims of these natural disasters,…